The National Rugby League "locked in a historic" doubleheader in Perth to open the season next year, according to Michael Chammas of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The NRL sneaked "under the guard" of the Australian Football League to secure the rights to the first football game when the new stadium opens. NRL sides Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and South Sydney Rabbitohs will host matches at the new venue on March 10 -- "a fortnight before the Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles were scheduled to do battle in the West Australian AFL derby." The NRL is "yet to confirm the opponents to take on the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs in Perth and will wait until releasing the draw" for '18 later in the year to announce the remaining two teams. The venue will also stage the second game of the 2019 State of Origin series, "further strengthening the push for a team in Perth as the NRL considers expansion options in the future." A cricket one-day int'l between Australia and England on Jan. 28 "will be the first sporting event to be played out of the multi-purpose facility." However, the NRL will be the first of the football codes to stage a match at the 60,000-seat venue (SMH, 8/28).
